12 Best Christian Parenting Books: Parenting Teens and Tweens

Finding the best Christian parenting books, especially when it comes to parenting teens and tweens, can become really overwhelming pretty fast if you don’t know who to turn to for recommendations. Here we talk about some of the 12 best Christian parenting books I have read so far. Some of these recommendations can cover a few age groups and even if your child isn’t a teen or tween yet, it’s always wise to get ahead of the game so you know what to look for when the time comes.

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This is not an exhaustive list of the best Christian parenting books but I picked a good amount for you to start off with. Many authors may mention other resources within their own work so you may want to take a note of those and see if they match up with any titles you may have already seen floating around the Internet.

Praise the Lord for those who have gone before us, survived, and wrote a book about it so we too can cross that finish line. Yes, we can cross that finish line. Teenagers are an AMAZING generation filled with loyal and loving people. It’s our responsibility to know how to best help them and ourselves during this season so we can come out of it victorious.

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It does take a lot of praying, understanding, and guidance to help these beautiful souls into adulthood with a healthy and firm foundation in Christ Jesus so they have the ability to lead Godly lives. It wasn’t too long ago we were also bright eyed, sometimes naïve, and maybe full of hope yet scared all at the same time. At least it feels like it wasn’t that long ago, but who’s counting?

Serving as a Youth Leader for over 15 years, parenting a teen into her college years, and counseling many teens across the globe, these have been some of the best Christian parenting books that I have read not only for my own home but for counseling others as well.

12 Best Christian Parenting Books: Parenting Teens and Tweens

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1.Captivating Revised and Updated: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul

Understanding your daughter’s heart is so important to her upbringing and there’s nothing like the teenage years to illuminate how important that is. In this book, you’ll learn the questions her heart asks and where she will try and find the answers. It’s a beautiful depiction of what she was made for, Who she belongs to, and how you can speak to those places in her heart that needs reassurance and affirmation.

By leading our daughters with the guidance of God’s standards, she will be in a healthier place to make those decisions that will eventually affect her future if not immediate present. This book enables you to understand her and love her in a way where she can feel both comfort and acceptance within her family and herself. For the women who may read it, it may also challenge you to look within yourself to see if you are asking those questions as well. Definitely, one of the best Christian parenting books for raising young women that is a little out of the box.

2. Wild at Heart: Discovering The Secret of a Man’s Soul

What the Captivating book is to a daughter’s heart, Wild at Heart belongs to the son. Again, you will visit the questions a young man asks and where he too will search for it. Understanding how to best steer your son’s heart especially during the teenage years will serve as a foundation by which he will measure himself. You will find out why it’s important he finds that answer in his Lord and Savior. Raising sons is so important because we have seen the results of when young men are left to their own devices. They will be the lead in their home and need the proper tools to be set off on the right foot for that kind of responsibility.

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Although, I do not have boys. I do have friends who have said this book has helped them in many ways to understand their son’s heart. If you’re a woman, you may not understand why they do the things they do. This book lends the necessary understanding and may also help shed light not only on your son’s heart but as a wife possibly also your spouse’s heart. Again, one of the best Christian parenting teen books for raising young men that is also out of the box.

3. Unmasked: Exposing the Cultural Sexual Assault

In this book, you will find what plagues teenagers across the board and that’s the fight for their sexual purity. We know dating, relationships, and sexuality are at the forefront of their minds whether they’ve grown up in the church or not. It also reveals a lot about the real consequences teenagers are facing in the midst of their sexual prowess. Many have answered the call to speak to these important issues and many have not.

Regardless of what category you’re in, you may learn something you didn’t know before in this area. It is vitally important to take charge in this arena because even if at the end of the day they decide to choose otherwise at least you can stand before the Lord knowing you did what you could to both teach and stand for His standards. You can click here for more information on what NOT to do when talking to your kids or any teen about sex.

4. Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

Never mind the rocking horse on the front cover, this book is for parenting children of all ages. If you’re like me, I don’t only have a teenager I also have two younger ones. I have found this book to be a great resource for all their stages in life from one in 1st grade to one who is already in college. While the information is meant to cut your heart a little bit (and ego if I’m going to be honest), think of it as more of a surgical remedy to what plagues us all. This book is jam packed with great information and I highly suggest it to anyone who has a child, either as a preventative measure or as a restorative tool. It behooves us to be better not only for our family but as a representative in Christ for other families to witness.

5. Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Women

I read this book when my daughter was younger before she even hit the teenage years and I found it to be a great foundational resource. A woman’s heart was created unique to that of a man and understanding how to navigate these intricacies can help create a safe environment and open communication for her to open up when the time calls. I love the fatherly language and heart this book provides especially as a resource for those men who may not have grown up in a home where a healthy father figure was present, this can be the resource for you to make a change for your home. It also is a help for mothers who may not have had a healthy form of parenting in her life. Another great Christian parenting teen resource to help you through these years.

6. Bringing Up Boys

Although I didn’t read this book (because I have all daughters), I trust the author so I will recommend it. Feel free to write in the comments below if this book has helped you and what you loved most about it. I pray it will help those who once again may have not grown up in a home where a healthy form of discipline and love was modeled for members of their family. Let us be the generation that will have stop violence and abuse of all kinds so they in turn can drive their next generation towards love and God’s standards for leading healthy and Godly families.

7. Shepherding a Child’s Heart

Christian parenting teen resources can come from books like these which at first glance can seem like they are meant for the little ones. However, this book like Paul Tripp’s have a similar heart behind it. It really cuts through many of the lies and deception when it comes to child rearing, depending on how you grew up. It brings in a very important factor we can often forget or not even realize when it comes to the best kind of parenting.

Teens do yearn for the love we can easily give the little ones but we can find it more challenging when it comes to the older ones. Not because we don’t love them but because we may be having challenges in communicating with them, they may be resistant for reasons known or unknown to the love we are wanting to give, or have gone through some stressful times that have caused trust to be lost. For ways on how to deal with teenage communication problems, Click HERE: “How to Talk with Your Teenager: 6 Ways to Deal with Teenage Communication Problems.”

8. The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming

When our kids become teenagers, we don’t realize how much our home can be a haven from their stressed-out world. Many of us didn’t grow up with that so it can be difficult to recognize what’s needed or how to create this place in our home where they can find breath and rest in. Teenagers crave family. It’s the reason why we see cliques, gangs, clubs, and groups like that. They want to feel included, loved, a part of something, and will find a place to go to so they can experience that.

This book gives amazing ideas on how to cultivate your home in such a way to provide these things for them so they don’t have to look elsewhere. It then provides the opportunity for not only your teen to feel at home, but also be an invitation for other teens to rest there as well.

9. The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You

This book is more for the parent but definitely relates back to the teenager for the simple fact that we can’t give them what we don’t have for ourselves which is the reason for including it in the best Christian parenting books list. We are all so busy doing for our kids that we can forget we need time for ourselves too. With all the travel, school activities, after school activities, church programs, cooking, working (if you are a working parent), and whatever hat we are called to wear, we can find ourselves completely exhausted and emotionally spent. It’s no wonder we are having issues with our teenagers and I’m sure other people in our lives. This book gives us ideas on where to cut back and how to give ourselves time and care so we can truly love the way we want to.

10. Mama Bear Apologetics™: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies

This is one of the best parenting books for Mothers I have read. For those of you who may be tired of what some call the “fluffy” and “flowery” type of books aimed at women, this is a book that really gives you understanding of why theology is important in breaking down the lies of the enemy. Oftentimes, people back away from the language of the academia surrounding the Christian faith especially when talking to teenagers because we think they can’t handle it. Yet, have we looked at their homework? They can definitely handle it and need to learn it. This book will help you in preparing your children for the world’s lies and how to combat them through an apologetics standpoint. It’s a great meaty book so prepare yourself with sticky notes, highlighters, and of course the Word of God.

11. The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers: The Secret to Loving Teens EffectivelyThis series on “Love Languages” is great to read for understanding on how people receive love. I’m so blessed to see the author had provided one for teenagers. Unfortunately, teenagers are left out of the love aspect because we think, for whatever reason, that they don’t want it. I promise you they do. They are still looking for the love and affection from their families. Parents are still the #1 influence which means they still want your love and affection first before anyone. Don’t allow the enemy and the world make you think otherwise. This is a great resource for learning how best to love on them.

12. Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids

I know the title says “kids” but this is specifically for creating lasting faith principles once the kids are in their adolescence. This is so important for raising teenagers especially with the statistics listed in this book and the research they did surrounding teenagers and their faith. There is a curriculum the authors also have in case that is something you want to dive further into. This may help both you and your teenager gain tools to help with the stickiness of faith for you and those around you. A great resource all around and something you can pick up again and again for reference.

These are the 12 best Christian parenting books I’ve found so far that truly delivered some great biblical advice on not only on parenting teens but also can cover any age group. There are definitely more on my list to read. If you have read a book that you’ve enjoyed on this topic, please share the title and author in the comments down below.

I pray whatever we learn from these authors we will put into practice. One thing I’ve learned in working with both parents and teens is this, teens want to be loved and parents want to love them. Let us encourage one another in doing just that.

Baskets of Blessings,

Nina Daugherty